Month: February 2016

The Monadnock Folklore Society presents the third in its series of English Country Dances with the theme “Dance Around Monadnock.”

On March 20th from 2:00 to 5:00 PM, the dance will be held in Bass Hall at the Monadnock Center for History and Culture, 19 Grove Street in Peterborough, NH, with Rich Jackson teaching dances that will appeal to all, from novice to experienced dancers.

Lovely music will be provided by performers Jacqueline Schwab, piano and Emily O’Brien, recorder.

English Country Dance is a form of social dance that harkens back to the days of Jane Austen and “Pride and Prejudice”, but its roots extend further back in time. Its traditions and innovations continue right up to the present.

Hauntingly beautiful tunes, elegant yet simple steps, friendly people and beautiful surroundings combine to make an English Country Dance a pleasant and energizing experience. No special clothing is required, but comfortable clothes and shoes are recommended.

Beginners and singles are welcome and all dances are taught throughout the session. Admission is $10. For more information call (603) 209-3304 or visit http://www.monadnockfolk.org. The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.

Will Woodson & Eric McDonald are two of the finest young proponents of traditional Scottish music today. With an unusual blend of wind and plucked strings, they bring a breath of sensitivity to a tradition that is often known for its high velocity. Their unique approach, while rooted in the indigenous music of Scotland, is also informed by the vibrant traditional music scene of their native New England. Border pipes, wooden flute, tin whistle, guitar, mandolin, and voice fuse together to create a detailed fabric of tunes and songs. Soaring reels and swinging jigs give way to more contemplative ballads, each displaying the organic chemistry of the duo. Their music is equally at home in a concert, festival or pub atmosphere. You can see them touring across the country bringing their unique brand of Scottish music to the stage as well as around the thriving music scene of Portland, Maine, where they reside and share a teaching studio.

Joey Abarta & Nathan Gourley are two fine young musicians living and collaborating in the Boston area.

Will Woodson is an innovative and powerful performer of traditional and contemporary music on border pipes, wooden flute, and tin whistle. He he holds a master’s degree in the performance of Scottish music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. He’s recently returned to America from Scotland, and before heading north to Maine, he spent a year in Brooklyn, New York where he performed and taught music, also helping to develop the thriving IONA session. He has performed across America, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, and a good bit of continental Europe, appearing at major festivals like Piping Live and Celtic Connections in Glasgow. He’s shared stages with the likes of Phil Cunningham and Mick Maloney, and he has brought his teaching skills to events such as Maine Pipes and Fiddle and the Upper Potomac Pipers Weekend. Will has studied with some of the greatest living exponents of the tradition, including Allan MacDonald, Finlay MacDonald, Marc Duff, and Hamish Napier. His knowledge of border pipes reaches beyond performing, and he currently works as apprentice for pipemaker Nate Banton. Will plays a unique and highly developed set of his and Nate’s design. Will is known for his highly personal musical style, which utilizes the full extent of his singular instrument.

Eric McDonald is one of New England’s premier acoustic performers and instructors, known for his versatility in many styles. Born and raised in the Boston area, he grew up steeped in Beantown’s vibrant music scene. He studied at Berklee College of Music under world renowned musicians John McGann and Eugene Friesen. While studying he toured with full time folk acts like The Dave Rowe Trio and Matching Orange, and acted as music director for productions by companies such as Actor’s Shakespeare Project. His accompaniment on DADGAD guitar can be heard on albums by those such as Katie McNally and Brendan Carey Block, whom he can also be seen with on stage. He has performed across the country and overseas alongside major artists such as Archie Fisher, Malinky, Rodney Miller, Hamish Napier and Ian Robb of Finest Kind. He is a member of the Scottish power trio Cantrip and the contemporary old time group The Knockbox Stringband. He has been seen on stage at such events as the New World Festival, the Champlain Valley Folk Festival, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and countless others. Eric’s teaching is practiced and well developed. He spent five years on staff at the Passim School of Music in Cambridge, MA and brings his skills every summer to Maine Fiddle Camp.

Joey Abarta has spent the last ten years touring North America, Europe, and Asia, teaching and performing music on the uilleann pipes. A Los Angeles native, he first received instruction on the pipes from Dubliner Pat D’Arcy, a founding member of the Southern California Uilleann Pipers Club. His musical skills have been further honed by several visits to Ireland, a year-long stint working in Japan, and continuing relationships with master pipers. In August of 2009, Joey’s accomplished playing won him an All-Ireland championship, placing second worldwide at the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. Currently based in Boston, Joey divides his attention between performance, teaching, and recording. In addition to performing solo, he tours with Mick Moloney and the group The Green Fields of America; while at home, he organizes the meetings of the Boston Pipers Club, teaches for Comhaltas’ Boston Music School, and organizes various traditional music concerts and events.

A former member of Chulrua, the Doon Ceili Band, the Two Tap Trio, and the Máirtín de Cógáin Project, fiddler and guitarist Nathan Gourley started playing music at age five. While living in Minnesota he had the opportunity to collaborate with such renowned players as Paddy O’Brien of Chulrua, Daithi Sproule of Altan, Brian Miller of Bua, and Norah Rendell of The Outside Track. He was a finalist in the Sean O Riada fiddle competition in 2014 and winner of Boston’s Fiddler of Dooney competition in 2013. Nathan can be seen playing at concerts, ceilis, sessions and festivals in Boston and throughout the United States and Ireland.

Michael Roberts and Wooden Dinosaur return to our stages on Friday, March 4 at 8:00 PM at the Fountain Arts Building on the Dublin School campus. We’ve been trying to get together on this concert for over a year and now it’s finally happening! Yahoo! Admission is $12/$9 (Sr/Jr).

Wooden Dinosaur is the songwriting project of Vermont singer, guitarist and bandleader Michael Roberts. Roberts is currently working on a new album that will be released in spring 2016.

Throughout the project’s 10+-year career, Roberts and his collaborators have explored the back roads of American music from throughout the last century, creating a fearless blend of old time fiddle music, country soul, rock n roll, Dixieland jazz, and delta blues. Roberts has produced five solo albums under the name, and with his band, two EPs and two full-length albums.

Wooden Dinosaur’s upcoming release will be its most cohesive and fully realized to date. The songs were inspired by the rural writing of Wendell Berry, John Berger, and Wallace Stegner, as well as early “Americana” albums by Ry Cooder, The Band and Jackson Browne.

For our Monadnock Folklore Society concert, Roberts, along with hometown boy Jeffrey Murphy on bass and Frank Roberts on drums will preview songs from their upcoming release, in addition to songs from their growing catalog of original works.

“Wooden Dinosaur makes the kind of simple, stripped-down music that leaves you feeling nostalgic and longing for more.”